Chapter Three

Sam awoke groggily, but with each passing second, the world became clearer around him. He could tell he was in the infirmary on the Paladin. He had certainly been there enough times to know what it looked like.

The events up until he had passed out were muddled, but he could still remember most of what had happened. Certainly enough to harbor an anger towards Briggs for disobeying him and letting Sadiq go. For Sam, there was no greater offense than not taking any opportunity to put a dangerous man down. He would have done it himself had he been even remotely capable.

He had to find out where they stood concerning Sadiq.

Unable to sit still any longer, Sam started disconnecting himself from the medical machines scattered around him and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His legs nearly couldn't support him and he had to steady himself on the wall as he walked down the hallway to the control room.

Grim was standing at the entrance, talking to one of the tech analysts. She looked astonished when she spotted Sam and dismissed the crewman next to her to turn to him.

"You're awake." It was both a statement and an amazed question. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

Sam brushed past her concern. "Where's Sadiq? Do we know his location?"

"No, not yet. But the tracker you placed is live so it's only a matter of time." She hurried through the response, wanting to get back to her own argument. "But Sam, there's no way I'm letting you go back out there right now. You were nearly dead when you came back and we have no idea what that nerve gas did to you. We have to run more tests."

Looking up over Grim's shoulder for a moment, Sam did a double take when he spotted Briggs standing near the center of the room. His rage erupted.

"Briggs!"

Sam sidestepped Grim, oblivious to her protestations. Grim then stepped in front of Sam, placing her hands on his chest in an effort to stop him. "Sam, you need to rest. There's no telling—" But Sam ignored her and pushed past.

"Sam!" Briggs answered Sam in honest surprise. "I can't believe you're walking right now."

Sam doggedly ploughed on with what he was saying as he charged up to Briggs. "That was your last mission. I'm pulling you out of the field."

Briggs was taken aback, both shocked and disbelieving. "What? What are talking about?"

Sam angrily jabbed his finger at Briggs' chest. "You disobeyed a direct order. You're lucky I don't have you discharged."

"You can't be serious."

"You just don't get it, do you?"

By this time, the entire room had stopped what they were doing. All eyes were glued to the two men in the center of the room, monitors and reports forgotten.

"You were dying, Sam. What did you want me to do?" Briggs asked indignantly.

"I wanted you to finish the job, Briggs!" shouted Sam in response. "Nothing else matters. Nothing. Not you. Not me." He paused a moment before adding, "You're done."

With a final, harsh stare leveled at Briggs, Sam turned to leave. Grim, having remained silent throughout the argument, made a placating gesture to Briggs, wanting him to stay put while she went to talk to Sam. She turned to follow him, and Briggs turned his back to both of them, too angry and incredulous for words. He scoffed and placed his hands on his hips, not sure what to do with himself, awkwardly meeting the eyes of those watching. His emotions boiled over until the steam burst forth.

He called out, still facing away from Sam and Grim. "No. You know what, Sam?" Briggs turned. "I'm not going to apologize for saving—"

Briggs' sentence died, anger transforming into worry, as Sam fell into an unused tech station near the door.

"Sam?"

Sam briefly held himself up by the chair in front of the monitor before crumpling to the ground, pulling the chair over with him. The plastic wheels were left swinging in the air.

"Sam!"

Briggs dashed forward, meeting Grim at Sam's side as Sam started convulsing on the floor. Sam's eyes rolled into his head, with teeth clenched and hands contorted into claws. His breathing was sporadic; he gasped in a breath only when his spasming diaphragm would allow it.

"I need something for his head!" Grim called out to the room. One of the analysts handed her his jacket and she rolled it up and placed it under Sam's head. When everyone stood frozen at the spectacle, Grim rounded on them. "Don't just stand there. Go get the medics!" They hesitated just a moment too long. "Go!" Grim spat at them. The woman nearest Sam sprang into action, darting from the room.

"What's happening? I thought you said Sam was better." Briggs asked, almost accusingly.

"I said he was stabilized. For the time being, anyway. But there's no telling what lasting effects the nerve gas could have had on his body. He must have relapsed. Maybe because of the stress of the argument, I don't know."

The pair could only watch as Sam flailed uncontrollably on the floor. There was nothing they could do for him except try to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

"Where the hell is the goddamn medic!" Grim called out in frustration, looking around as though it were the spectators' fault the medic hadn't arrived yet. In reality, it hadn't even been a minute, but it had seemed like thirty.

Abruptly, Sam's convulsions ceased. But so did his breathing. His head lolled to the side as his hands fell lifelessly to the ground and his chest became still.

"Grim!" Briggs cried out as he hadn't taken his eyes off of Sam. But Grim was already turning back, having noticed the lack of sound.

She checked Sam's pulse. Her countenance divulged the bleak news. Her words confirmed it shortly thereafter.

"No, no, no, c'mon, Sam." She started chest compressions on Sam, willing him, physically and mentally, to come back to them. "Come on, Sam, breathe! You're not going to die like this. I won't let you. Now breathe!"

Briggs, meanwhile, had nothing but concern written on his face. He couldn't believe Sam was now in worse condition than he had been before. He thought for sure that since Sam had pulled through the initial bout, he was in the clear. But everything just seemed to keep going wrong.

It had been nearly a minute that Grim had been giving CPR. Briggs had been mouthing his own silent encouragements on top of Grim's spoken ones. Just as Grim had seemed nearly ready to give up, Sam heaved in a gasping breath, his eyes bursting open. He surged upward and seized Grim's arm out of a reflex instinct borne of too many hostile encounters. Both Briggs and Grim jumped, Grim more so because of Sam's assault. Sam's eyes still hadn't focused and it was clear his mind hadn't quite returned yet.

"Sam?" Grim kept her arm still even though Briggs could tell Sam's grip was painful. She placed her free hand on the side of Sam's face, tilting it towards her own. "Sam, look at me. Can you hear me? Sam?"

Finally, a spark of recognition. Sam's eyes searched Grim's face and then descended to her arm, the one he was clutching. He let go, leaving a red outline of his hand on her arm. Briggs knew it would bruise, but Grim lowered it without comment.

Sam wore a look of confusion and slight embarrassment. "Grim… I… what happened?"

"You started having a seizure and then… your heart stopped. I had to bring you back." While Grim was talking, Sam propped himself up onto an elbow and then made to stand, nearly falling over in his attempt. Briggs caught and steadied him, but let go when Sam leant on the desk instead. "You need to take it easy, Sam. This is exactly what I was talking about. That nerve gas could have caused permanent damage."

"I need to get back out there, find Sadiq." Sam was breathing hard and visibly weak from his ordeal.

"Are you crazy? You can't just go back out there. If that had happened out in the field," Grim proclaimed, making a sweeping gesture with her hand, "you wouldn't have come back."

"It doesn't matter!" shouted Sam heatedly. Briggs could tell he was irritated. Already so at Briggs, but now at Grim as well. "Sadiq is still out there and thousands of lives are at risk. We don't stop until there's a bullet in his head."

"Let Briggs go."

"No." Sam's voice was stern and determined, unwilling to budge on that topic. "We're in this situation because of him."

Briggs opened his mouth to answer, but Grim beat him to it.

"You're still alive because of him, Sam!"

The medics chose that opportune moment to arrive, followed closely by the woman who had fetched them. They skidded to a halt in the doorway, looking from Grim to Sam, clearly confused by Sam's seemingly healthy condition. Grim held them back with a wave of her hand, but they were largely ignored by Sam.

Instead, Sam glared at Grim, clenching his jaw and grinding his teeth. "This discussion is over. Notify me as soon as you have Sadiq's location." Before Briggs or Grim could form a reply, Sam staggered from the room, leaning heavily on the desk as he did so. The two medics trailed him silently, one assisting him down the corridor. Neither Briggs nor Grim followed, thinking it unwise to be in his presence for the time being.

Grim turned to Briggs, a sad, sympathetic face looking up at him.

"No matter what Sam says, Briggs, you made the right choice."

In spite of her words, Briggs still felt somewhat guilty. "What if Sam's right though? What if more innocent people die because I let Sadiq go?"

"Briggs, there will always be another Sadiq. You take him out and there are ten more men just like him vying to take his place." At the look of confused disgust on Briggs' face, Grim quickly amended, "I'm not saying that we should give up or stop going after them, not at all. That's why we're here."

"I don't understand."

"Look, what I'm trying to say is, innocent lives are always at risk. That's the sad truth about our job. You save the lives of those you can, no matter what. That includes Sam too. Otherwise, what's the point?"

After flashing an encouraging, but somewhat subdued, smile, Grim strode away, leaving Briggs to contemplate her words. He didn't know what to believe anymore. Right and wrong? There was no simple answer. No guidebook to point him down the correct path. He was so sure he had been doing the right thing when he had saved Sam. He had trusted his gut. Briggs decided that's all he could do. Trust himself. And live with the choices he made.

For better or for worse.

THE END

Thanks for reading! I wanted to show a little more of the dynamic between Sam and Briggs and, of course, make the scene a little more dramatic as is my wont. If you have any comments, reviews, questions, concerns, suggestions, or criticisms, please share! I'm always open to and love to hear any feedback. Thanks! :)